The story of 42 high school students forced to kill each other on a deserted
island, Battle Royale is on the verge of being banned in Japan. Directed
by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Takeshi Kitano, the film was criticized after
a screening for Japanese officials as being "violent" and "antisocial." Though
the Battle Royale was ready for release with a restriction for viewers under
16, the government is now seeking to ban the film altogether. ...
Terminator 2: Judgment Day star Edward Furlong is struggling to stay
straight after a month in drug and alcohol rehab. The actor checked into a center
in Malibu, California, after friends urged him to "slow down." Although it has
been reported that Furlong's substance abuse includes cocaine and heroine, he
insists that he does not like cocaine and "never did heroine."...
Universal is planning a sequel to its teen comedy hit American Pie with
J.B. Rogers in the director's chair and a comeback cast that may include Jason
Biggs, Chris Klein, Tara Rein, Shannon Elizabeth, Eugene Levy and Mena Suvari.
The script was written by the same Adam Herz who penned the original. A small
budget film that cashed in big at the box office, American Pie launched
the careers of many of its fledgling actors....
For several months now while hopping from festival to festival (Paris,
Cognac, Cannes,
Deauville), Brian De Palma was expected to be
preparing the November shoot in France for his next film Femme Fatale.
For this thriller, Uma Thurman had agreed to the lead role, but has since declined
to join Quentin Tarantino for his new film Kill Bill, especially written
for her. Jennifer Lopez also declined the role. The latest news in the saga
is the male lead, which has been si...
Tsui Hark, l'enfant terrible de Hong Kong réalise, avec Andrew Chen, le film d'animation adapté de son chef d'oeuvre. Le résultat est un film visuellement fou. Un mélange assumé et rocambolesque d'aventure, de romantisme, de magie, d'humour, où se téléscopent le Moyen-Age et l'ère de la révolution industrielle.
...
Lynne Ramsay's first feature Ratcatcher won the Grand Prix for the Best Film
at the second annual International Film Festival Bratislava. Held in the
Slovak capital, the festival is one of the premiere showcases for Central
European film....
Twenty five year old Momo, a homeless man, has just been granted permission to have an arranged marriage with Malika, a 17 year old Algerian virgin. Always on the lookout for female company, Momo starts to fantasize about married life. But if he dares to touch Malika, he will fall from his new emotional high...
...
Eyes wide open to the world and rebellious at heart, 18 year old Victor falls in love with Annabelle during a techno party held by bourgeois friends. Little does he know, he will soon fall into the depths of poverty, in an experience that he will never forget....
Though Madonna and her press entourage have denied rumors of a wedding with
Guy Ritchie, an official listing at the registrar's office in Dornarch, Scotland,
has made it official: the couple will wed on December 22 at Skibo Castle. The
sumptuous setting is a veritable chapel for the rich and famous, and will host
guests such as Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow. The couple has asked to write
their own wedding vows. ...
Courtney Love probably won't have to dig that deeply to find the motivation
for her role in director Scott Elliott's next film, Hello Suckers. Based
on a book by Louise Berliner, the film is about a showgirl who fights her way
onto the Broadway stage and into the Hollywood limelight. Love herself went
from a strip club job to fronting her own rock band and marrying Kurt Cobain
before she was able to earn critical acclaim -- and a Golden Globe nomination
-- for her perform...
The Walt Disney Co. has acquired rights to the film adaptation of Darin Strauss's
novel "Chang and Eng", and Julie Taymor is negotiating to direct.
Based on the lives of Chang and Eng Bunker, the conjoined twins for whom the
term Siamese twins was coined, the film will attempt to bring out the longings
and humanity of the brothers. Attached at the chest, the twins married sisters
and fathered 21 children between them....
Hank Azaria is in negotiations to play the role meant for Robert Downey Jr.
in the upcoming America's Sweethearts. Awaiting a late-December court
date that could put him behind bars again for his recent drug arrest, Downey
Jr. was dropped from the film, which begins shooting in early January. Azaria
would play Catherine Zeta-Jones' lover in the film, which also stars Julia Roberts,
John Cusack and Billy Crystal. ...
Billy Crystal, the seven-time host of the Oscars, said he would not return this
year to host the 73rd
annual ceremony. His role in America's Sweethearts,
which begins shooting January 10 and wraps up around March 22, would prevent
him from preparing for the Academy Awards telecast, the actor said. A spokesperson
at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said that an emcee has yet
to be selected for the March 25 event....
Actress Julianne Moore, the star of recent hits Magnolia and Boogie Nights will
receive the 10th Anniversary Piper-Heidseick Tribute to Independent Vision at
the Sundance Film Festival. She will receive the honor at an awards January
20, 2001, where she will be interviewed live onstage and where clips from her
films will screen. The award was created to honor an artist who "has made a
significant and unique contribution to independent film." Previous honorees
include ...
Daniel Auteuil has been selected to preside over the France's 26th César awards,
scheduled for February 24, 2001 in Paris. One could say it's a step up from
his participation in last year's ceremony, when he took away the award for Best
Actor for his performance in Patrice Leconte's La fille sur le pont.
The nominations for this year's prizes will be announced January 29....
December 13 - 17
The sixth year of the Paris
Gay and Lesbian Film Festival kicks off with Krampack
by Cesc Gay (Spain) and features 30 films, including Chuck
and Buck by Miguel Areta (USA), Sex Revelations (If these
Walls Could Talk, USA) by Jane Anderson, starring Chloé Sevigny, Ellen DeGeneres,
Sharon Stone and Vanessa Redgrave. Another
highlight will be the screening of Queer as Folk, the gay show which
is currently a cult hit in England.
also on the ...
Richard Gere has signed on to take the lead in Steinbeck's Point of View
with Warner Bros. The film, which had attracted the attention of stars like
Tom Cruise and George Clooney, tells the story of a man with a potentially terminal
disease. The director has yet to be named....
An appeals court in Manhattan has greenlighted a $45 million lawsuit against
Leonardo DiCaprio for his alleged role in a fight that took place March 4, 1998.
According to prosecutors, DiCaprio encouraged friends to beat up Roger Wilson,
41, after he made advances at the star's girlfriend Elizabeth Berkley. ...
Hank Azaria is in negotiations to play the role meant for Robert Downey Jr.
in the upcoming America's Sweethearts. Awaiting a late-December court
date that could put him behind bars again for his recent drug arrest, Downey
Jr. was dropped from the film, which begins shooting in early January. Azaria
would play Catherine Zeta-Jones'lover in the film, which also stars Julia Roberts,
John Cusack and Billy Crystal. ...
Winstar Cinema has acquired distribution rights for Les
Destinées Sentimentales, by French director Olivier Assayas. The deal
comes on the eve of the distributor's States-wide retrospective of another French
filmmaker, Eric Rohmer. Nominated for last year's Palme d'Or at the Cannes
Festival, the film stars Emmanuelle Béart, Charles Berling, Isabelle Huppert
and Julie Depardieu. ...
Actor David Spade was attacked in his home by his personal assistant,
David Warren Malloy, Wednesday. The 29-year-old Malloy apparently
pointed a stun gun at his boss when caught trying to rob his Beverly
Hills home. The two then fought, and Spade called 911. Though Spade
was left unharmed, his assistant was taken to a nearby hospital.
The actor showed sympathy for his attacker in a statement saying
...
This year's international film festival Bratislava, held for the second time
ever in the Slovak capital of Bratislava,
smashed its records for attendance. By the midway point of the festival, Bratislava
had more than doubled its 1999 attendance, and had already welcome more than
20,000 fest-goers. Who needs Prague?...
Although his film The Bride of Fire was a hit at the Black
Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, Iranian director Khosrow Sinaid
had to take other people's word on it -- because he never made it to the festival.
In Stockholm, he was forbidden to depart for Tallinn and was subsequently sent
back to Iran. At least Iranians were welcome across the border ...His countryman,
Abbas Kiarostami took home a prize for his film The Wind Will Carry Us.
...
